Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 10,000 Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,000. Weatherford International makes up about 0.4% of Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 69.8% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 2.1%

WFRD stock opened at $95.80 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.78. Weatherford International PLC has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $110.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.07% and a net margin of 8.76%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 18.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WFRD. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.50.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $164,465.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,739.25. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total transaction of $10,550,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Profile

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.